The Detective and the Tech Guy
Authors: Steampunk . Chuckster & dettiot
Rating: T
Summary: A case of mistaken identity and murder brings Sarah Walker, Pinkerton agent, to sunny California. Protecting the heir to the Bartowski Electronics Corporation should be just business-but Chuck Bartowski fills out a suit nicely and makes a mean martini. Chuck lobbied to hire the Pinkerton Agency, but had no idea that the detective they'd send would be as alluring, intelligent and fascinating as Sarah Walker. Will the detective and the tech guy solve the mystery, distracted by the riddle in their own hearts? An homage to The Thin Man movies co-written by Steampunk . Chuckster and dettiot.
Disclaimer: Neither of us own Chuck. If we did, there would have been a 1940s flashback episode. And a musical episode. And . . . you get the idea.
Author's Note: I always love reading Steampunk . Chuckster's take on Chuck. I think she does an amazing job at capturing his niceness, his kindness, and his goofiness. This version of Chuck also has confidence and charisma to spare, something that Steampunk . Chuckster really brings to life in this chapter. Plus, Apache Adventure Bot is just a hoot to imagine. :-)
XOXOXOXO
Apache Adventure Bot. 1990. Mint condition.
There were supposedly three copies they found in some boxes in the back of the Burbank Buy More and were going to be put on the main floor to be sold in less than ten minutes. Chuck had less than ten minutes to get to the Buy More or they'd be gone.
According to the text from Norman in the IT department of Bartowski Electronics Corporation, his brother Skip found them by chance and tried to smuggle them out but was caught by the branch manager. Skip was almost fired…but the most important thing was that Chuck had less than ten minutes to get a copy of Apache Adventure Bot. The one and only video game that he'd been looking for since he was a kid.
Chuck wrapped up his conversation with his father's PR rep and slammed his office phone into its cradle. "Crap, crap, crap. Apache Adventure Bot. Crap!" he muttered to himself, meanwhile leaping over his desk in an attempt to save the time it would take to step around it.
He grabbed his suit jacket and shoved one arm down the sleeve, whipping the door open that led into the hallway outside, rather than the one that led to his outer office. As he stepped into the hallway, his other arm swinging upwards as he shoved it into the other sleeve of the jacket, he heard a squeal and spun to find the source of the strange sound.
"Sar—Agent Detective Walker?!" He left his jacket a little askew in his shock at finding her there and embarrassment because he nearly leveled the beautiful Pinkerton Agent. She was staring at him with wide eyes still.
"I am so so sorry. I didn't see you. I'm on my way to…" To what? Buy a video game from 1990 that featured a pixelated robot that roamed the deserts of a post-apocalyptic world destroying oversized bugs and saving humankind? Would she judge him if he told her the intricate nature of the storyline? What if he told her he'd cried when he was ten because his parents wouldn't buy it for him due to the violent nature of the super bugs?
He reached up to tug the jacket into place and fix the lapel and collar as she continued to watch him with a professional smile.
"In a bit of a rush, Chuck?"
"Y—Yeah. Yes. I'm sorry I almost hit you. I really didn't mean to."
"I hope not. I'm pretty sure I could take you out with my pinky. Even though you kinda got the jump on me." She leaned around him. "What's this?" she asked, gesturing to the door.
"Huh?" He looked over his shoulder. "Oh. My office is in there."
She arched a pretty eyebrow. "I never noticed this door."
"Isn't it your job to notice things like that?" he teased, grinning widely. She just glared, her jaw working. His smile died completely. "Sorry."
Chuck cleared his throat and took in her appearance as subtly as possible. She wore the typical business attire, skirt and white blouse with a matching suit jacket, but she looked anything but typical in it. "So…what brings you here, S—" He almost corrected himself but she interrupted.
"You can call me Sarah. I won't throttle you."
"Ha!" he blurted, sounding a bit like a sea lion, shoving his hands in his pockets and feeling heat rush up from his collar.
She raised both eyebrows and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, the business-like air around her continuing. "Uh…I'm leading an investigation to find out why someone wants to hurt your father. And I was hired to protect you. That's why I'm here."
"Touché. Stupid question. As always, you have a very good reason for doing just about everything you do."
She paused, pursing her lips. Then she seemed to snap to attention. "Actually! Maybe you can help me—"
"Anything!" he said quickly. "Of course. Whatever I can do to help."
Sarah looked to be on the verge of laughing as she pulled the file from where it was tucked under her arm, opening it and scanning the page. Then she seemed to rethink the action and snapped it shut again, holding the file at her chest and looking up at him with her lips pursed. "Okay. Chuck. Is anything wrong? You're kind of jumpy."
"This has been a stressful day for me." He gave her a wan smile.
"I can tell. Just…breathe." She stepped closer, and he wondered if she knew how much worse that was making his ability to "breathe".
"Are you my bodyguard and my yoga instructor now?"
"I can be." She gave a bouncy shrug that seemed a little less rigid than the Sarah Walker he'd gotten used to and he rocked back on his heels, finding he was breathing just fine suddenly.
"I might be interested in learning yoga. Do a little bit of that bridge pose in between meetings. Maybe you can teach me. As long as I don't end up in the corpse pose, am I right?" He spread his arms out as though he was saying 'ta da!' and grinned.
"Chuck." She frowned.
"That wasn't funny, was it?"
"Not at all."
"I apologize. Yoga jokes, not funny."
"Corpse jokes, not funny."
"It really is a yoga pose, though. It exists."
"I know that," she smirked. "But, uh…How do you know?" Sarah lifted a dubious eyebrow.
"Google. Duh."
She snorted and shook her head, opening the file again. "So that's what you CEO types do with your free time."
"Among other things." He bounced his eyebrows at her and pursed his lips.
It might have been his imagination, but he saw a hint of a blush on her cheeks as she looked down at the paper. "So, um, there's someone who runs PR at Bartowski Corp, name of Karl Gurgen."
"Good ol' Karl. Just got off the phone with him, actually."
"Right. Well, where's his office?"
"The PR department runs out of a separate location. North Hollywood. Karl does not have an office in our building."
She nodded. "Ohh, that explains so much."
"Like why Karl's not in the building directory?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah." He shrugged and pursed his lips. "It's in North Hollywood, the PR department. I can take you. If you want. Because you're probably still getting to know the Los Angeles area. It's a hop skip and a jump, really."
"You don't have to."
"Somebody's gotta guard my body." Chuck let a slow smile cross his face, noticing the way she bit the inside of her cheek. "Might as well be you. You'd probably be more effective against an army of muggers than the big beefy guys you brought with you."
She paused, her eyebrows shooting up into her hairline before settling again. "Well, I need to talk to Karl. So if you're coming, we need to get a move on."
"Of course. I'm yours." Chuck politely swept his arm in the direction of the elevator down the hallway.
"Let's go," she smiled and walked at a brisk clip away from him.
When they got to the elevator, he studiously watched the button he'd just pressed instead of looking at the excruciatingly beautiful woman standing at his shoulder. His iPhone suddenly buzzed in his back pocket.
He fished it out just as the elevator door dinged and slid open.
Chuck and Sarah stepped inside and the doors closed again, bringing them to the garage beneath the building.
He read the text from Norman, asking where he was, dude. And informing him that he'd missed out. All three copies were gone.
Chuck realized he should have been a lot more broken up about missing his chance to own a copy of Apache Adventure Bot. If he'd just left a minute earlier, he would have missed Sarah Walker and he would have gotten in his car and sped to the Buy More. Apache Adventure Bot would be in his hands right now.
But then…he would have missed Sarah Walker.